Stalking
by Ryua Malfoy
Summary: Someone has a mission. A mission he really, really shouldn't be caught doing. He'd never live it down...


I own my deck of Dueling cards. That's it. I don't even own the plot, as it came from one of the bunnies on this so lovely yahoo group I joined…

Stalking

It was dark. The sun had set an hour ago, and the moon was hidden behind clouds, so the only light came from streetlights, or people still awake in their homes… meaning it was a perfect night if one didn't wish to be seen. And for one furtive figure, keeping to the shadows, he most definitely didn't want to be seen.

He decided, about fifteen minutes into his walk, that it was much, much easier to get around the city during the day. For one, there were landmarks. Like the big oak tree sitting on that old lady's yard… or the green minivan on the circle driveway, or the rock garden… all of which were on the route to his destination. Earlier, he had passed a large tree… and there was a circular driveway with a minivan on it… but the rock garden was nowhere in evidence. These damn suburbs all looked alike. He had no idea why his hikari had to have a house in the suburbs.

But one didn't say no to one's hikari. They always brought out those damn puppy eyes… the ones that were all big and glisteny, with the hands clasped under the chin… or the way they turned sadly away, looking all dejected and faintly disappointed. It had to be something they learned in school. Because they ALL did it. Very well to boot.

So, instead of taking a taxi or the c-train, he was walking. Because a taxi here in the middle of the night was something one just didn't see. And he didn't want attention for this little late-night activity. It would not help his reputation at all, to be caught sneaking around the neighborhood by some busybody.

He peered through the gloom, scanning the houses with their occasional lighted windows for anything that looked familiar. Unfortunately, since his hikari had forbidden him from visiting most people, he didn't recognize the inside of anyone's house. And since it was dark, he couldn't see colors.

This was particularly irritating, because the house he was looking for was normally a rather incredible shade of pale fuchsia. It stood out blocks away… in the daytime. The color was actually a much argued about shade in the household, with one inhabitant liking it… and the other abhorring it.

But that was beside the point right now. He wasn't going to look at house colors, or rock gardens… or any sort of landmark. He was doing something his hikari would probably faint from hearing about. It was definitely something one wouldn't imagine the king of games, the resurrected pharaoh, the 'nice' yami to be doing. He was trying to spy on someone. Someone he most certainly shouldn't be trying to see. Someone who was likely to disembowel him if he was caught.

So here he was, sneaking through the shadows, at a quarter to midnight, through the suburbs, without anyone knowing. And finally, thank the extensive pantheon of Egyptian gods, he was on a street that was starting to look familiar. There was the fire hydrant beside the streetlight on the corner lawn… with the swing set two houses down… he was here.

Yami crept over to the side of his target house, the room above him cheerfully lit. Since it was a school night, he knew the hikari would be in bed, leaving just his target awake.

Quite suddenly, he tripped over the drainpipe, falling to the ground in a very undignified manner. And a very loud one to boot. The normal, quiet sounds from the open window above him ceased immediately, and he rolled under a very prickly kind of bush. He didn't know what kind, but it was covered in thorns that had to be three inches long… but it appeared that it was good for camouflage. From the open window, he heard a door slide shut and water turn on.

He was in the shower. Finally. Unsuspecting, nice loud background noise… and with a definite absence of clothing. Which was the whole point, if the truth be known. Carefully, unsuccessfully trying to avoid the thorns, Yami finally dragged himself out from under the bush. There must be thorns in places even he couldn't see by now…

Grumbling under his breath, he picked his way over to the newly-discovered drainpipe, thinking it must be the easiest way to scale the wall. He reached up and grabbed on, then let go with a stifled yelp to pull thorns out of his palms first. Then, he managed to get about two feet, before noticing the thorns in his chest, stomach, and slightly more tender areas. Naturally, this necessitated another drop to the ground to pull more thorns. And then finally, on his third try, Yami actually made it up the drainpipe.

Slowly. And with much slipping, although not too much noise… he hoped. About halfway up, he found a very large, very irritated spider sitting right where his hand needed to go. Apparently, only itsy bitsy spiders liked to share their waterspouts…

After a brief, silent flicking fight with it, he managed to knock it down the side of the house, meaning he could finally get onto the windowsill. Hooking his elbows over the frame, he looked triumphantly in at the bathroom…

Which held a pile of clothes, and an empty shower. Yami blinked, wondering when his target had learned to turn invisible. Without warning, he felt a searing pain on his scalp, and his shirt jerked forward and up, almost choking him.

He found himself unceremoniously dumped on the floor, Bakura standing over him and disgustedly trying to wipe hair gel off his hand. And unabashedly, gloriously naked. The thief looked down, smirking to see Yami's mouth hanging slightly open. "You know Yami… if you wanted to see me without pants, all you hand to do was ask…"

The pharaoh, the incarnation of Ra, the king of games, mysterious demigod of the Millennium Puzzle… couldn't quite think of a response to that statement.


End file.
